If peace talks are such a good thing, why is there so much pessimism regarding the chances of success for the Israel-PA talks? This is not a rhetorical question; it has a very concrete, specific, one-word answer:
Incitement.

Yes, Israel made a sickening decision to release high-profile terrorist murderers in exchange for the PA's consent to sit at a table and insist that Israel's generous concessions do not suffice. However, it seems to have come together with a consolation prize of sorts: The announcement by Housing Minister Uri Ariel of tenders for the construction of nearly 400 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, and another close to 800 in three of Jerusalem's post-'67 neighborhoods.

How many times does PA chieftain Mahmoud Abbas have to repeat that the Israelis are planning to rebuild the Holy Temple atop the most volatile spot in the world before the world begins to accept it as true?

What could be more natural for a column dealing with Jerusalem than to pay special interest to the Temple Mount, the site of the Beit HaMikdash and the very center of the world? Especially given the distinct impression that throughout Israel, interest in this holiest spot has been swelling notably?

When we talk about developing Jerusalem and ensuring that it remains united under Jewish sovereignty, what could be more critical than actually building Jewish housing? Yet it is an open secret that the Netanyahu government has been waging a long-running general construction freeze in the Jewish areas of Judea and Samaria (Yesha), as well as in the liberated areas of Yerushalayim.

It's only natural to see increasing evidence of Jerusalem's glorious Jewish past being unearthed, quite literally, under modern Israeli sovereignty. The new archaeological finds are also very timely – as the Arab onslaught attempting to detach Jerusalem from its Jewish roots gains steam, the facts on the ground, or "under" the ground, show quite otherwise.